save for reinstall

[nahgallaco]

Tried to get this info from TS12 Forum but ended up with every Trainz version but 12.
I read that there was no need to save any files in TS12 as the program did it automatically.
Not sure about that.
Anyway, I have add-ons and have created Senarios and Consists and I think they used to be saved separately in previous versions of Trainz.

Could someone please step me through the 'save for re-install' for TS12 or direct me to a Forum thread where the steps for TS12 are explained.
Thanks
Stuart.

 

[JCitron]

Tried to get this info from TS12 Forum but ended up with every Trainz version but 12.
I read that there was no need to save any files in TS12 as the program did it automatically.
Not sure about that.
Anyway, I have add-ons and have created Senarios and Consists and I think they used to be saved separately in previous versions of Trainz.

Could someone please step me through the 'save for re-install' for TS12 or direct me to a Forum thread where the steps for TS12 are explained.
Thanks
Stuart.

Stuart,

You tried your best searching. The search function is pretty sucky with the forums, so no worries asking again.

Your best bet is to make sure Content Manager is closed and no other programs are running.

Copy your User Data folder to another location on your computer or to a back up device of some kind. I recommend an external backup drive if you plan to do this to an external device. The reason being the through put is a lot faster than those thumb drives which are okay for a few items or a small amount of data.

I know you didn't ask for this yet, but I figured you might need these instructions anyway. Here is the process I've used in the past with 100% good luck every time.

Uninstall Trainz. (Note you can skip this if you are going to reinstall on a new or freshly rebuilt computer).
Note: You may have to delete the folder if the uninstaller is broken. This can happen after installing the service packs.
When this is done, reboot your computer and run a defrag and a registry cleaner. I recommend CC Cleaner. Run this so it will clean up any leftover bits in the registry from your old install.

When reinstalling, install the program normall from DVD, or downloads just like you did when you first got the program.

Now after installing all the service packs and running a database repair when asked to, you are ready to reimport your data.

Start up Content Manager.
Click on the File Menu
Choose Import Data.
Browse to where your backup is located.
Let the program run as this will take some time. When asked to overwrite and built-in content, choose no.
This can take some time, depending upon how much stuff you have.

When this is done, I recommend defragging your drive again.
Shut down Content Manager and defrag your drive.
When the defrag finishes, restart Trainz.
Go to the Launcher screen and choose options.
Put in your serial numbers for your add-ons if they have any.

You should be all set after this.

John

 

[kenneth18278]

John,

I have TS2009 on an external HDD and I'm building a new computer in the next few days. Could I then just copy the whole Trainz install from the external to the fixed HDD (C:\ Drive) in my new machine, or should I do as above in your previous post. Sorry if this is a silly question, but I've seen both solutions quoted on the forums as working, so I'm unsure of which is best.

Hope you can help

Ken

 

[JCitron]

John,

I have TS2009 on an external HDD and I'm building a new computer in the next few days. Could I then just copy the whole Trainz install from the external to the fixed HDD (C:\ Drive) in my new machine, or should I do as above in your previous post. Sorry if this is a silly question, but I've seen both solutions quoted on the forums as working, so I'm unsure of which is best.

Hope you can help

Ken

Ken,

You sure can do it that way. I've done that myself when I go between my Alienware Laptop and my desktop computer.

There are some of things to consider:

I found that I needed to run Trainz Diag and I had to adjust your video setting in in the Options panel on the Launcher.
I also had to associate Content Manager with CDP files so that it would open up CDPs instead of getting an unknown file type.
You'll have to edit the shortcuts to point to the correct install otherwise they will still be pointing to missing directories.

Remember too that the drag and drop function no longer seems to work, but that's a not a major issue. I just do a file open when bringing in CDP files into Content Manager. There's a registry hack for this issue, but I didn't feel like looking for it.

Other than that everything works pretty well.

John

 

[kenneth18278]

John,

Thanks for the fast reply. I'll certainly give that a try and if all else fails I can always do a clean install, copy dlc *.ja files and the UserData folder direct from the external drive (using CMP, File, Import Data. But a straight copy seems more straightforward.

Once again, thanks

Ken

 

[nahgallaco]

John.
Thanks for the information.
I am presently saving the User Data which says it will take 3 hours.
Meanwhile could I ask -
Where do I find my Consists? I would not enjoy having to make them all again.
And - when looking for the Consist file I scrolled to the end of the Local folder and found another Local folder within it.
It has a couple of dozen entries which seem to already be in the main Local folder.
Please explain??
Thanks
Stuart.

 

[JCitron]

John.
Thanks for the information.
I am presently saving the User Data which says it will take 3 hours.
Meanwhile could I ask -
Where do I find my Consists? I would not enjoy having to make them all again.
And - when looking for the Consist file I scrolled to the end of the Local folder and found another Local folder within it.
It has a couple of dozen entries which seem to already be in the main Local folder.
Please explain??
Thanks
Stuart.

The 3 hour copy is about right. There's a ton of data there especially if you've had Trainz for a long time and have imported data from older versions. The User Data folder remember also contains the original files too from the updated files found in .JA files as well as your downloaded data.

Let the copy finish before you do anything else.

Don't worry about your consists. They're being copied too which is a good thing.

John

 

[nahgallaco]

Thanks John
Looks like your suggestions helped.
I have printed them out for future reference.
Stuart.

 

[clam1952]

Stuart, you may find this useful for finding things in the forum, go to google and type this in the search box site:forums.auran.com leave a space and type what you are looking for usually works far better than the forum search.